Ciel's Love
by Michael Luvar Barnes
Summary: Ciel confesses her true feelings for Zero with surprising results. -Megaman Zero post game setting-


Ciel's Love

By Mike Charger

All characters appearing belong to Capcom. This story is copyright 2003 to Mike Charger, all rights reserved.

**C**iel watched as Zero approached her through the doors to the Data room where most of the missions she planned came to fruition. The pain she could sense in his soul overshadowed the smirk on his face. 

_Oh Zero I love you._ But those words never came from Ciel's mouth. All she could do was smile and greet the hero of the Rebellion.

"Zero…thank you for being here for us." Ciel said wanting to embrace him and tell him how she felt. His fighting ability, as well as the intense look in his eyes amazed her. 

"Thank you Ciel, I am glad I could help." Zero said nonchalantly, though some of his true feelings shone through. "I am glad I could stop that X from destroying all of our kind."

"Well your more of an enigma than anything else Zero." Ciel regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth. "Oh, I am sorry."

"No offense taken, I know I am mysterious. Always have been, I can feel it." Zero smiled. "How about we go talk about how the world should be better off now that our enemy is weakened."

"Weakened?" Ciel asked curious.

"Three of X's Generals got away." Zero scowled. "But I can get them later if they should continue to follow that naive X's policy."  

Ciel nodded and turned away from Zero. "Follow me," She said, an unusual sureness in her voice. "We can talk in my room." Ciel opened the locked door behind her and walked in. Zero walked after her casually with his usual calmness when not in action.

Ciel sat on her bed and patted a spot next to her. Zero looked at Ciel curiously for a moment before sitting. "Zero, I love you." Ciel said before kissing Zero. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his own.

Zero blushed, his eyes widening in shock as Ciel kissed him. He suddenly felt really sad as memories came flooding back to him. Suddenly, Ciel wasn't there; instead a brunette with a barrette on her head was holding him close and kissing him. 

"N-n-no!" Zero leapt out of Ciel's gentle reach. Shaking his head frantically he saw more visions of the lovely, cute, brunette. "Iris!" Zero cried before the room began to spin.

Later, 

"What is wrong with him?" A soldier asked.

Zero lay in a capsule with wires running out of it while Cerveau ran some tests. A diagram of Zero's memory systems appeared on a screen in the small lab. Ciel studied it and her shoulders drooped. 

"He is in a memory loop, reliving a past event that was locked away in his mind." Ciel said finally. "I should have never pushed for more than a friendship, at least not now." Ciel added silently as Cerveau worked. 

"He should come out of it on his own, he is a strong reploid. Ciel just get some rest okay?" Cerveau said with a stern look from behind his eye visor. 

"But I feel responsible for his well being, let me stay with him while you rest okay Cerveau?" Ciel said with sincere concern for her personal hero's wellbeing. 

"Okay, but you know I will be up still if you need me."

Ciel watched Cerveau leave and sighed while sitting down in a chair next to the capsule Zero lay in. She leaned over and watched his chest expand and compress as he breathed. His finely toned muscles under his armored outerwear made Ciel's heart skip a beat. It was not his original configuration, but he was still Zero, she had seen pictures of him as he once was in old records. But sometime during his sleep his body was updated, yet nearly all of his original internal parts were intact, to resemble something even more human. All reploids of that era were even more human in appearance and overall personality. Some even had relationships with humans.

"Zero why did you do this to me?" Ciel asked softly while gingerly touching his cheek. "Why did you make me fall for you so hard?" Ciel smiled at the idea it was the ponytail so like her own. But it was deeper than that, spiritual in a way.

Zero's hand reached out and touched Ciel on the arm. "I have no idea what you're talking about Ciel." Zero said sitting up and sighing. A look of pain upon his face caused Ciel's heart to nearly break. 

"Are you hurt?"

"Are you?" Zero asked. "Why did you kiss me?"

"I love you." Ciel said nearly in tears. "Zero what happened?"

"The last person I ever loved back died in my arms after I defeated her in battle." Zero said his eyes hiding a pain so intense it seemed to radiate from his every pore.

"Zero I know about that, and you know what?" Ciel stood up and forced herself to smile. "I still want to know you."

Zero smiled. "You're strong, stronger than that X was." Zero smirked. "Why I bet my ponytail on the fact that if it had been you I had to face, I would have lost simply because of your strength." 

"Y-y-you really mean that?" Ciel asked.

"Or won after a much more difficult fight." Zero winked. "Ciel I do not think we should have a relationship."

"Why?"

"I have to be your weapon now, so, it would make things awkward." Zero said with a sad smile. 

"My weapon? Zero, but,"

"Shhh." Zero said leaning up and pressing his dark gloved finger to Ciel's lips. "Just, accept that okay?"

Ciel nodded. "One day then right?"

"Yes." Zero smiled. "One day."

After that Ciel could not help but smile, she was not totally rejected by Zero. Just told to wait for him to come back in from the cold, the cold of his foggy past and future. But as he would march into every battle and take out every enemy before him. He would truly have something, no, someone to fight for waiting for him with a warm smile and the love in her heart.


End file.
